About the city

St. Petersburg is a city rich in Russian culture, yet allusive, and at times impossible to comprehend. For more than 200 years St. Petersburg was the magnificent capital of the Russian Empire, and to this day maintains its status as Russia's cultural and spiritual capital.

Peter the Great, a progressive leader and reformer, conceived St. Petersburg as the city of his dreams - a utopian vision of the ideal urban aesthetic and political environment. The splendid northern capital grew with remarkable speed at the very edge of Russia and the Baltic Sea. The city's appearance amazes and enthrals as it is so different from other Russian cities - its very creation defied nature and placed the city at eternal odds with the elements.

Low-level flooding regularly reminds the city of the threat of a serious flood, and with flooding come gloomy predictions about the city's imminent demise. At times such prophecies have threatened to come true. St. Petersburg has survived several wars, revolutions, an unparalleled military blockade, Stalin's terror, and more than once has seemed on the edge of downfall, yet has always continued to stand. Possibly it is the Angel that floats atop the spire of Peter and Paul fortress, protecting the city from such a fate, blessing the banks of the Neva through the centuries as it glides across the sky.

St. Petersburg is one of the world's most beautiful cities, and has the honour of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite the city's relatively brief existence to date - slightly more than 300 years - its history is rich with significant events.

St. Petersburg was founded on 16 May 1703 by order of the Russian Emperor, Peter the Great. For the first ten years of its history the town was developed as a fortress and sea port, but active trading soon transformed the city into a centre of economic prosperity, industry and craftsmanship. It was during this time that the famous Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded, and the city on the banks of the Neva became renowned as a religious centre. In 1710 the royal family decided to relocate from Moscow, bringing the Tsarist palace and government offices with them, and making St. Petersburg the capital of the Russian Empire.

For a short time during the rule of Peter II (1727-1730), the capital was moved back to Moscow, but three years later St. Petersburg regained it status as Russia's most important city.

Elizabeth I, Peter the Great's youngest daughter continued her father's work. During her rule, vast numbers of wooden structures were torn down and replaced with stone ones. It was Elizabeth who gave Bartholomew Rastrelli the chance to flourish with his work here. This had the effect of turning St. Petersburg into a city of stunning palaces and cathedrals which, even today, two and a half centuries on, rank among St. Petersburg's most grandiose and spectacular architecture. The Winter Palace, the great palaces at Tsarskoe Selo, and the Smolny Cathedral and Convent were all brought to life during this time. The Tsarina was a patron of both science and the arts and two leading universities were founded under her auspices - Moscow University, and the Russian Academy of Arts. In fact, Mikhail Lomonosov, the great scientist, writer and polymath, owes much of his success to Elizabeth I.

During the reign of Ekaterina II (1729-1796) people began calling the city ‘Magnificent Petersburg', as the Winter Palace, the Admiralty, Nevsky Prospect, the granite river and canal embankments, and the Bronze Horseman, that famous statue of Peter the Great, were all built while she was on the throne.

The boom in St. Petersburg city-planning took a downturn as a result of the Napoleonic War in 1812. Nonetheless, during this period Mikhailovsky Palace, the Alexandrinsky Theatre and the Senate and Synod building were built, the construction of Palace Square was completed, and construction on St. Isaac's Cathedral was begun.

Even before the start of the 20th century, St. Petersburg had become a truly European city; a centre of industry and culture.

In 1914 St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd, in part as a response to WWI and the general anti-German feelings of the time.

Three years later Petrograd became the setting for the dramatic events of 1917, and in 1918 with the beginning of the period of ‘Red Terror' the city ceded its capital status to Moscow. Even so, in 1918 and 1919 Petrograd saw many changes including the creation of the film studio now know as Lenfilm, the opening of the famous ‘Dom Knigi' book shop, and the establishment of the publishing house ‘Vsemirnaya Literatura'. In 1924, after Lenin's death, the city was renamed to honour the revolutionary leader, and became known as Leningrad.

1941-1944 marked the terrible period of the Leningrad Siege - 900 days during which the city was cut off from the rest of the world.

However, the city stood its ground and survived. The reconstruction of Leningrad out of the ruins which remained after the relentless bombing was a feat entirely comparable to the city's miraculous initial construction in the early 18th century. In 1944, at the end of the siege, there was not one significant monument untouched by shells or fire, and the rural palace estates lay in ruins. Yet by the middle of the 1950s, a mere 10 years after the destruction, Leningrad had been restored and regained its status as a pearl of world architecture and culture.

The city reverted to its original name of St. Petersburg in 1991.

Today St. Petersburg is Russia's second most important economic, scientific and cultural centre after Moscow, and one of the most beautiful cities in the world.